High costs, so ministry to stop using recycled paper for books 

THE Education Ministry’s one-year pilot project to use recycled paper for history textbooks and workbooks is now history. Replying to queries from The Straits Times, an, Education Ministry (MOE) spokesman said that books made with recycled paper cost about 14 percent more than those made from virgin pulp.

The ministry has decided not to use recycled paper for school textbooks and workbooks this year. Last year, every Secondary 1 history textbook and workbook was printed on recycled paper. The textbooks cost about $5.70 each, compared with those printed on virgin pulp, which cost $5 each.

Another 215 schools also used recycled paper for their exercise books in 1993.

The MOE spokesman said: "To promote recycling of materials, the ministry encourages schools to use, exercise books or pads which are printed on recycled paper where their costs are not higher than those printed on virgin-fibre."

Although the history-book project has fallen through, the ministry is still going ahead with its recycling efforts.  The spokesman said the ministry recently completed a project to place one recycling bin in each school and junior college. Waste recycling and the use of recycled paper has also caught on in other public and private-sector organizations.

An Environment Ministry spokesman said about 95 business organizations switched to using recycled paper for stationery and other office needs in the last few years. Despite the growing green awareness, several paper merchants said MOE’s decision to drop using recycled paper was not totally unexpected, as the future of recycled paper was now uncertain.

Mr.’ Frankie Yeong, president of the Singapore Paper, Merchants Association, said recycled paper was still about 20 percent dearer than virgin pulp paper.

"Some manufacturers are even moving away from 100 percent recycled paper towards a mix with between 30 and 40 percent virgin pulp content, as this would make chemical treatment of recycled paper less costly."

One person who welcomed MOE’s decision not to continue its pilot project was Mr. Eric Tan, marketing manager of Shriro Pacific Paper.

He said local users should not focus just on recycled paper but should look instead at "environment-friendly" paper, which is any product manufactured with minimal harm to the environment.

Mills now buy pulp from commercially managed, renewable forests and replant up to five trees for every tree felled. They have also improved their production processes, which used to release harmful pollutants in the pulp-bleaching process.

On the other hand, recycled paper, if not manufactured responsibly, is not environment-friendly itself, as the process of removing the ink in recycling can release harmful pollutants.

He added that the future of recycled paper worldwide was now uncertain, largely because of the rise by more than 100 per cent in pulp prices last year.

Source : The Straits Times, January 3 1995

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